Moonves' comment has since been cited by political pundits as proof that the media has been boosting Trump. At the Vanity Fair New Establishment conference on Wednesday, Moonves was asked what he thinks about the comment in light of how the presidential race has progressed.

"It was a joke! It was a joke!" Moonves said. "Then Marco Rubio put me on a flyer and said this is why the media is supporting Donald Trump. Obviously, Trump is saying something very different today."

Moonves said that the comment needed to be put into proper context. His answer was in response to a question about local political ad spending, not TV ratings.

"It was early in the primaries, and I was at a business conference .... The early days of Trump, where no one imagined him being where he is today," he said. "By [the 'good for CBS' comment], I meant there was going to be a lot of money in the marketplace. Ironically, because of Donald Trump not spending a lot of money [on campaign ads], more money has been spent on gubernatorial and local races."

Moonves was also asked how he would a handle a situation like the one NBC found itself in recently with Billy Bush, who parted ways with the network after the tape of him talking with Donald Trump in a trailer on a TV set, made national headlines.

"NBC did probably the right thing. He was an infotainment guy," Moonves said. "I will do a little promotion, I think CBS "This Morning" is the best true news program in the morning, it doesn’t do infotainment."